The Sacredness of Sharing Food and the Experience of Eating is SO Health-Empowering!

When we break bread and give it to each other, fear vanishes and God becomes very close.

I read the above quote by Reverend Dr. Henri Nouwen a few days ago. It made me jump back! As my friend, Alice, used to say, "as you go through life, every now and then --beams will intersect--and you will know that you have been 'LED' to be and ARE exactly where you are meant to be".


Beams intersected! This quote embodies much in life that I have experienced and continue to discover, even strive and LIVE FOR, personally and professionally.


You see, so much of my life and ME is about FOOD -- studying it, buying it, cooking it, and of course, eating it. But, the MOST significant aspect about food that has always been inherent, almost UNNOTICED, in all of the times that have POSITIVELY affected my relationship with food (for example, balancing my diet, optimizing my nutritional needs, appreciating FULLY its myriad of colors, textures, flavors and the easy availability of the cornucopia of foods wherever I've lived) VERSUS all the negative associations I've struggled with regarding food (overeating -- especially of junk foods, my obesity struggle, my obsessiveness and compulsiveness about it) is the role the SHARING of food has played.


That is, whenever the dynamic of SHARING FOOD has been 'on the table' (no pun intended -- I think! haha!), indeed, the fear, the negativity, the sinister, destructiveness, evil of FOOD and what it does when it is abused, OVERused, hoarded, not evenly distributed globally -- VANISHES! Even more profound, GOOD and WONDERFUL things happen: people get to know each other better, families laugh and learn about each other's triumphs and struggles, bodies become healthy and content, brains are nourished and innervated, those that 'have' eat just enough for their needs and learn the joys of a BALANCED DIET and those that 'don't have' also receive the blessing of eating enough for their needs and the joy of HAVING enough, rich and poor become dignified, humanity is equalized, love develops, and God becomes very close!


My beloved father loved sharing with me all the good foods that he enjoyed so much. He wanted so much to make me happy and feel cared for, secure, and loved. It was NEVER his intention to overfeed me and initiate a state of obesity in me that I would struggle with -- as a child and teenager, into my early adulthood, and, actually, through many of my adult years. It was ME who made FOOD the focus -- not the SHARING OF FOOD. And so, to 'replicate' those feelings of happiness, security, comfort, and love that I experienced growing up with my amazing Dad, especially during the times in my life that I have felt disappointed, unloved, frustrated, unappreciated, insecure -- I would 'comfort eat'! ONCE I realized that all the GOOD that I experienced with Dad was more about the SHARING of food and NOT the food itself, I stopped the comfort eating! It was more about the shared TIME with Dad, the shared JOY, the KNOWING that he wanted the BEST he could give to me, and the shared LOVE -- NOT really food FIRST. Food was just the means to the end! Alleluia!


Becoming a dietitian was my destiny! It has enabled me to perpetuate the POSITIVITY of FOOD and all that surrounds it -- for myself, but also for others. Understanding food and how and why it works, once it reaches the body (nutrition), has truly been an awakening for me. It has been my privilege to have dedicated my life to dietetics and the people I serve through practicing my profession. It's one of the ways I SHARE the 'bread of life', myself, and God's gifts and blessings of food and nutrition.


Personally, this 'sharing' occurs through the activities I occupy myself in with food study, purchasing, preparation, cooking, and eating -- with my family, friends, and in serving the greater global community -- in my local sphere and throughout the world.


Many people look at grocery shopping and cooking daily meals as mundane and unimportant. In fact, shopping for, cooking, serving, and sharing meals is one of the most holiest of activities and that which leads SO many people to 'wholesomeness' and 'holiness'. The SACRED personal connection to goodness that occurs through sharing meals must NEVER BE UNDERESTIMATED!


Health is holy. Sharing HEALTHY food is the ultimate in serving my God in every way I can as I strive to seek and follow His ways. When the Lord Himself broke Bread and gave It to His disciples and said 'Take and eat', this was as close as one could get to Another and He made it possible! It is this Promise and Assurance and Gift of my Daily Bread that gives me strength and sustenance! I am thankful and I am healthy and I am strong! When God becomes very close to me, I know I'm in Good Hands!

Do Americans Hate Fat People? My opinion

I just read: http://www.fitbie.com/2011/09/26/do-americans-hate-fat-people-fight-prejudice-against-overweight

What's also interesting about this blurb are the comments. I mean, are people SO clueless and brutal??!! Well, thankfully, not all people are. I don't think the point of this article was to garner sympathy and 'acceptance' for obese or 'fat' people or, certainly, the obesity epidemic. It was absolutely NOT intended to muster up a whole 'pity party' for obese people complete with gushy, smushy, blubbering pats on the back and hugs all way round. NO one HATES 'fat people' more than people who re overweight hate themselves. People who struggle with obesity, regardless of the reason(s) it occurred, don't need Americans or Europeans or the man on the moon to hate them anymore than they hate themselves or to bring any more hate and negativity and hopelessness into their lives than they already have. THAT'S what this article, in my humble opinion, is just trying to say. NOW, the reasons WHY obese and 'fat' people ARE that way IS the real issue or, should I say, ARE the REAL ISSUES , as it is these underlying issues that have to be elucidated and dealt with in order to help EFFECTIVELY and SUSTAINABLY treat and prevent obesity. People do not set out in life to become fat and don't WANT to get or STAY obese. Blaming them or telling them, in so many words, that this is what they DO TO THEMSELVES, is not accurate. Yes, their eating and physical inactivity behaviors MAY result in getting them and keeping them obese, but these behaviors are DRIVEN by something -- emotional, physiological (actually, more patho-physiological), psychological, socio-cultural, environmental, etc. Whatever that 'something' IS or 'somethings' ARE has to be identified and addressed AS WELL AS HOW to regulate the eating and physical activity behaviors. All this article is trying to present is that obesity is a COMPLEX issue that cannot be oversimplified into just: overeating+not enough physical activity = obesity. It is downright FOOLISH to accept that people who are obese ONLY need to stop eating and exercise more and those that can't or won't are weak, lazy, stupid, stubborn, creepy, or whatever else you want to describe them as, in whatever negative terms you feel hits them hardest, in order to make it abundantly clear that they are HATEFUL IF THEY ARE FAT! Obesity IS wrong. It feels bad, it does bad things to the body, and it can look bad. But people who are obese ARE NOT BAD PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY ARE OBESE. Enlightening yourselves into understanding more about obesity, why it exists, and how to approach, treat, and prevent it can do much much more to arrest this senseless and sad epidemic and to truly 'ENLIGHTEN' -- spiritually, mentally, emotionally AND LITERALLY/ PHYSICALLY - those of our fellow brothers and sisters who are affected by it! Thanks for the article! :)

Are People Just Giving Up??!!

As far as I travel and no matter where in the world I live, the United States will always be 'home' to me. I'm stateside, right now, and it's great to be back. It's clearly evident that the US is in a bit of an economic 'dip' right now -- at least as I observe what's happened in this beach resort town where I presently lay my head and hang my hat. Shops and businesses that have been here for years have closed. Shops that have hung on don't and CAN'T provide the good old-fashioned customer service that they did before. There are less people here at this time of year and I've heard from the year-rounders that this was the case all summer long. It appears that less people are going on vacations -- they just can't afford it! It's such a shame. People are still very friendly and accommodating -- there's just an air of insecure haste and urgency -- something that this far north end of this lovely beach city, situated smack dab on the Mason-Dixon line with its curious mix of Southern hospitality and Northern expediency, never-ever seemed to emanate. It's still wonderful to be here -- the beaches are, in my opinion, one of the best in the world and the overall atmosphere is still relaxing and fun. I really hope and pray that stability, if not gentle growth, is soon restored here and a sense of renewal permeates the hearts and minds of all that work and play here. Also, in my opinion, the USA, in general, is STILL the easiest, most enjoyable, the most HOPEFUL country to live in. Which is why, it has REALLY hit me on this visit back 'home' how UNHEALTHY so many MORE people look and move this time round. Regardless of what the statistics record or don't record, empirical observation affirms that obesity is on the rise here. It truly seems that people have just thrown their hands in the air and given up! When I talk to people -- not professionally -- just in conversations on the beach and in the shops (people know I'm an RD! -- so conversations often seem to veer toward 'diets' -- sigh...) -- no one seems to be concerned with how being obese or overweight affects their HEALTH -- it's more about how it affects their LOOKS! No one seems to be making the 'connect' between their shortness of breath, their sleep apnea, their high blood pressure, their skin rashes, their hormonal imbalances, or even their full-blown non-communicable chronic diseases -- whatever they may be-- and their obesity!!! Despite what the overload of messages coming out from government and private health agencies from all kinds of conduits -- newspapers, magazines, Twitter, blogs, Facebook, popular and learned publications, in medical offices and supermarkets, in schools and clinics, etc. etc -- people seem to STILL be ignorant of the HEALTH ASPECTS/ PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH BEING OBESE. The whole nation seems to be IN DENIAL! People still seem to be upset about being obese and overweight ONLY because it affects how it makes them LOOK -- what other people think of them because of being chunky, what clothes they can or cannot wear, what vibe they give off, how attractive they are to possible mates. And if they ARE obese or overweight and feel they LOOK GOOD, then they see absolutely NO PROBLEM with it! Somehow, the SUPERFICIAL MESSAGES ABOUT WHY OBESITY IS WRONG FOR PEOPLE seems to be getting through loud and clear while the deeper HEALTH ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH OBESITY ARE NOT BEING HEARD OR HEEDED! Of course, when a person does get a health affliction as a result of obesity -- Type 2 diabetes, CVD, COPD, certain cancers, GERD, whatever -- the health message seems more real -- but guess what?! It's often too late! OK -- it's never too late to change and start making healthier lifestyle choices -- but it DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY! People should not be getting these obesity-related health afflictions to begin with! I don't know the answer. Perhaps we need to stop emphasizing the LOOKS aspects a bit more when it comes to the 'wonders' of being svelte and beautiful or super-chiseled or 'buff' with 'six and eight packs' and all that nonsense! With the celebrity-obsessed culture we live in -- perhaps we've raised the bar way too high for ordinary people -- they feel they can never be as beautiful as the 'beautiful people', so why bother with just being fit and healthy! Even though deep-down, ordinary people are aware that performers, models, and celebrities go to extraordinary lengths and expense to achieve their looks and perfect bodies -- many many celebrities don't ADMIT the extreme methods they endure to be thin and buff. I KNOW that many celebrities also DO lead healthy lifestyles and I'm all for it when they speak about the diets they follow and the exercise regimes they adhere to, but only if they are being honest. It is their job to look great and they need to follow healthy plans, so just SAY THIS! And when they DO intersperse extreme regimes here and there in their quest for youth and slimness -- just OWN UP TO IT -- just SAY IT! It's much better for ordinary people to know that this is what people who look SUPER LEAN, if not downright scrawny, do to get that way and that it is NOT NORMAL or 'good genes' or even healthy! Don't make ordinary people feel like poor slobs who can never look good. Everyone has their individual claim to beauty and is entitled to shine! Being healthy is THE way to liberate the beauty. The point is BEAUTY and LOOKS STARTS with HEALTH -- not the other way around! We really need to do what it takes to help people make the 'connect'. Those of us that are health professionals need to be more direct and CORRECT and get the help our patients REALLY need -- not pills all the time, not a barrage of costly tests, but a referral to a registered dietitian or to a weight loss program WITH subsidized coverage. The media needs to be more responsible about glorifying the wonders of being scrawny and/or unattainable chiseled and buff states. Celebrities or those who KNOW they have a big effect on the public need to be honest. Overall, I would really like to see the day when ALL people, no matter what their socio-economic status is, can have ACCESS to BEST TREATMENTS. MONITORING, and ATTENTION. I know this may mean that government subsidies may have to be allocated to enable this scenario, but, in the long run, it might help with imminent escalating, unsustainable Medicare and Medicaid costs in the future. If you have any thoughts or ideas on this topic -- feel free to comment/share! Be happy, healthy, and beautiful! Mary-Jo, MSc, MMSc, RD :)

Simple Summer Supper

I had chicken breasts that I thought I would marinate in garlic, a bit of olive oil, and lemon juice before throwing on the grill for dinner last night, but one problem -- I forgot to marinate them! It was a cloudy night, we were all a bit lazy anyway, and no one felt like firing up the grill (which means DH!).

So, what to do with 4 chicken breasts?!

I saw that there was some thin-sliced prosciutto crudo in the fridge and I had some fresh helda beans (the flat Italian green beans)I needed to really use up -- and I became inspired -- well -- just -- because what I ended up cooking was SO easy, anyone could do it!

Simple Summer Supper

Succulent Prosciutto Chicken Breasts
Green Beans Parmesan
Roasted New Potatoes

Brandy Peaches with Light Vanilla Ice Cream

Ingredients for 4 persons:
4 chicken breasts with skin removed -- cut in half and slightly flattened
Dijon mustard
8 paper-thin slices of prosciutto crudo
300 grams (about 1 1/2 cups) helda beans, trimmed, rinsed and cut into slantwise bitesize pieces
5-6 fresh baby pomodori tomatoes or equivalent amount of any ripe tomatoes
2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese 500 grams (about a pound) new potatoes

4 whole ripe peaches or nectarines
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 Tablespoons cognac, brandy, whiskey, whatever!

Light vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt OR plain yogurt


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 C)

Boil new potatoes. Drain and with a fork, slightly 'scratch' each potato, leaving skin on. Spray or LIGHTLY grease a roasting tin with olive oil. Toss potatoes in and roast for about 40 minutes or until bubbling and golden.

During the first 15 minutes the potatoes are in oven, prepare the chicken breasts.

Smear the top of chicken breasts with some Dijon mustard and then wrapped them all in the prosciutto crudo and lay them in a baking dish. Put them, covered with foil in the top shelf of the oven for about 25 minutes. Put the potatoes in the bottom half of oven. In the last 5 minutes of cooking, uncover chicken.

I trimmed and rinsed the beans and cut them slantwise into bitesize pieces. Steam them for about 3 minutes until they are 'al dente' -- DO NOT drain liquid out yet!!! Toss in 5 chopped baby pomodori tomatoes (any ripe tomatoes will do) with a dollop of olive oil and 'stir fry' the beans and tomatoes until the tomatoes are somewhat softened. Sprinkled some grated parmesan cheese over the bean/tomato mixture. Keep the bean/tomato/parmesan mixture warm until chicken and potatoes are just about done. DO NOT drain liquid out!!

About 2 minutes before chicken breasts are done and you have already uncovered them, NOW, drain out any fluid from the bean/tomato/parmesan mixture OVER onto the chicken breasts. This creates a flavorful, nutrient-rich sort of 'sauce' for the chicken!

Plate everything out -- chicken, roasted potatoes (which should now be done, bubbly and golden), and beans -- onto warmed plates.

Lightly salt potatoes, if desired.

For dessert, melt butter in shallow non-stick pan over a medium heat. Add brown sugar and stir gently till dissolved. Lower heat to low. Quickly place whole peaches or nectarines in pan, ladelling each one with the butter/brown sugar while gently tossing them around over a low heat until slightly softened. Add brandy at last minute or two. Plate onto dessert plates and add dollop of ice cream, frozen yogurt, or plain yogurt

Enjoy!!

PS -- As I am STILL watching my carbohydrate intake, I left off the potatoes and brandied peach and had a fresh peach, instead. Thus, this meal was entirely flexible for someone on a carb-limited diet!

In 'hiddeness' we find our true selves. HJM Nouwen

In our society we are inclined to avoid hiddenness. We want to be seen and acknowledged.
We want to be useful to others and influence the course of events. But as we become
visible and popular, we quickly grow dependent on people and their responses and
easily lose touch with God, the true source of our being. Hiddenness is the place
of purification. In hiddenness we find our true selves.
- Henri J. M. Nouwen

I write fairly regularly here on my blog. I 'share' the blog entries on Twitter. I sincerely hope that people who want and need to read whatever I post feel welcome and, somehow, find easy access to read and I strive to post things that will be of true help to them as well as informative.

I KNOW I could be MUCH more aggressive about linking my blog onto more sites -- especially places that are popular and esteemed to be the 'it' sites. But, I actually don't want that. It's not that I don't want to reach out and help people. It's just that I've never been very good at self-promotion.

I am a very simple person and I'm not very tech-savvy.

I like to keep things simple and uncomplicated.

Life and people are complex and complicated enough.

I only hope and pray that people don't think that what I share here isn't worth sharing or isn't useful just because it doesn't have flashy promos and big- shot sponsors behind the blog.

And, like Dr. Nouwen states in his reflection above, I strive not to get hung up on peoples' responses or how many 'followers' I have or anything that distracts me from my God-inspired vocation to serve the people who are struggling with obesity, fitness issues, and learning about tidbits and information that can help them lead healthier, happier lives.

And, please know that anyone who needs help or has comments or questions, can always contact me.

Star Bene!

Rightly Nourishing The World -- One Mouthful At A Time!

Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.
Mother Teresa

George Herbert was credited as stating: "Whatsoever was the father of a disease, an ill dyet was the mother." [Jacula Prudentum]. Presently, I spend most of my time ministering to people who struggle with obesity/being overweight, people trying to learn how to lead healthier lifestyles, and folks needing advice on how to change their diets to rectify symptoms of diet/poor-fitness related maladies or to improve their health. This statement of Herbert, a 17th century English country parson and 'doctor', reverberates in my mind, time and again. Obesity is truly a form of MALNUTRITION that causes tremendous bodily damage and needs proper treatment and attention to resolve it and its sequelae.

BUT, lately, as I view horrific images being telecasted on TV and posted online, I am STARKLY and SADLY reminded of what this statement means, but from the opposite reality. The vivid depictions of people, especially children, suffering from the malnutrition of hunger and UNDERNUTRITION -- marasmus and kwashiorkor or the M-K mix -- has moved me beyond tears. In the course of my practice, I have attended to undernourished people while working in hospitals, volunteering at orphanages in developing countries, working as a consultant for the UNHCR -- people living in very poor areas/conditions, students, refugees, those suffering from diseases or conditions that cause an inability to eat,digest,absorb,or excrete nutrients. But, watching a WHOLE POPULATION of people, born with otherwise healthy, functional bodies literally wasting and ravaging away because of the natural famine and drought BUT, ALSO because of not having food aid being delivered to them because of corruption -- well -- it's devastated me to the core. I felt I HAD to DO SOMETHING!

And so, I'm fasting.

That's right -- I am fasting right now. I will most likely drop a few pounds, but that is not my primary reason for fasting. I am a nutritionist -- a dietitian -- remember?! Fasting is not really something I recommend for busy, active people as it can set them up for all kinds of untoward repercussions -- light-headedness, fainting, fatigue, nausea, constipation, dehydration -- as well as lowering one's metabolic rate and rebound bingeing and fat gain -- an ESPECIALLY destructive process if you try fasting as a quick fix to losing weight.

But, sometimes in life, one is just compelled to throw away all the 'wisdom' of the most studied and sensible, and DO what NEEDS TO BE DONE! And, for me, after seeing the images of the emaciated, wasting children in Somalia -- crying and posturing in pain -- I just KNEW my prayers were not enough. I felt DRIVEN to add FASTING to my plea to the God of Creation to, somehow, intervene, to alleviate the suffering of the beautiful people in Somalia.

I am not a politician, a world leader, an influential person, or a saint. I'm just a normal person who wants to help, in my small way, to show these people I care and I love them. Oh, they may not see or know me or what I'm doing at all, but I truly believe that offering up the sacrifice of my true hunger, my NEED to fuel my body, my JOY in eating and food -- offering up my own discomfort -- WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

How?!

In practical terms, I have calculated that I would've spent, this week, about 58 GBPs or the equivalent of $89.60 on my food intake. So, I have sent a $100 donation to Action Against Hunger for their effort to supply nutritious food in Somalia. I hope this helps. I am going to try to continue to eat less after this week of fasting is over, and donate the continued 'savings' of my food expenditures, for as long as I can.

I also want to help try, in my own small way, to set a precedent for doing what it takes to end the travesty of the co-existing malnutrition of obesity and undernutrition. That is, if MORE people in the wealthier countries COULD and WOULD eat less and decrease the obesity epidemic -- which is draining so much money, time, and efforts from medical and public health organizations, private industry resources, governments, personal resources -- then we MIGHT have more resources and be able to MORE EFFICIENTLY and EXPEDIENTLY respond to undernutrition, famine, and drought in the world.
When I say 'set a precedent', I mean, mainly for myself, but if it serves as an example to others, then, so be it.

I'm fasting because I CARE about people who are emaciated and suffering on the other side of the world. I WANT them to know they are not forgotten or unloved or unwanted. As Mother Teresa stated above -- THIS is actually the GREATER issue here. I'm trying, in my own small way, which, by the way, is paltry and SO insufficient compared to THEIR reality -- to show solidarity with them, in their pain. Of course, I am unworthy to truly share in their pain and suffering, not REALLY experiencing it as they do, but I'm fasting for them and I'm trusting God will do the rest in passing my love and concern and 'message' to them.

You know, I was the kid who wanted to change the world -- well, at least the aspects of the world related to the capacity I was becoming somewhat proficient in, as a dietitian and nutritionist. When I was in college, I started a group called N.E.E.D. -- Nutrition Education for Equitable Development! We would go into poor neighborhoods in the city with our notepads and flip-charts and lots of fresh food as well as canned and packed goods. We would hand out all the food and feed the people while explaining all about good nutrition, eating healthy on a budget, shopping tips, etc. This activity and group dissolved once we all started needing to focus our attention to organic chemistry, foods and nutrition, statistics, economics and for me, what was probably the hardest course I've ever taken in life -- 'Basic Clothing Construction'! You see, my BSc was in HOME ECONOMICS-Dietetics! I couldn't and STILL cannot hardly sew buttons properly, let alone make skirts, dresses, slacks, and even a jacket, I believe from scratch! For me, almost hopeless! Shortly after I, thankfully, graduated -- I had plans to go to India with a priest who worked with Mother Teresa there. I organized a whole concert to raise money for Hunger Awareness and Donations to Third World countries. Harry Chapin performed!! I truly thought I was on my way!

It wasn't meant to be. I didn't have the money required to go to India. Father Brady (the priest) told me to work a bit, earn the money, and then come on over. Well, the time and these plans were side-swept by 'life'. Working in hospitals led to more work in hospitals and then grad school and then specializing in pediatric nutrition and then more work in hospitals, private practice, teaching, more grad work, post-grad work, research, working in industry, marriage, moving abroad, children, family responsibilities, and more grad work, teaching, and private practice.

BUT, I'm still ME. I think those words, above, of Mother Teresa, who I heard personally utter, as I sat in an audience hearing her speak -- have made me realize that I ended up being exactly where I needed to be. Throughout the course of my professional and personal life, I have come to realize that there ARE all kinds of human hungers and poverty MUCH GREATER than actual physical poverty and hunger and it was my place to be wherever God wanted me to be to serve Him and the world, in the ways I have TRIED to serve -- to the best of my ability. Sometimes, the 'wealthiest' of clients and patients I have come across, have been the most damaged, lonely, and devastated in and by life.

And so, I continue to pray and obey. But, today, as I said above -- this is not enough! It is time for me to deny myself one of my greatest pleasures and joys in life -- eating and food. It's not noble or admirable of me in any way. It is simply necessary and the way I want to try to show my love and respect for my beautiful brothers and sisters of Somalia. And, of course, most importantly I seek to obey God's call and to glorify Him with thanks and love for all the blessings of this world.

The people of Somalia AND the people I see and deal with every day, in the course and scope of my practice, AS I, too -- have beautiful and efficient bodies. I just want to be an instrument, in whatever ways I can, to optimally and rightly nourish the world -- perhaps ONE MOUTHFUL AT A TIME. I pray that as I fast and deny each mouthful I NEED and DESIRE, may a mouthful somewhere in Somalia be fed with blessed relief and pleasure -- may a mouthful of an obese person somewhere in the world be fed with nutritious and optimal food for their body's needs.

Nutrish and Delish: Barbecue Sauce -- Healthier Version

For finger-lickin' good summer meals -- nothing beats a homemade barbecue sauce to tenderize and flavor your meats, chicken, and even vegetables.

Homemade barbecue sauce tastes infinitely better than anything that comes out of a bottle or jar AND you can control your ingredients so that it is ALSO so much HEALTHIER. You will find, too, that the healthier versions are lighter and give a more refined flavour than the thick, almost sickly-sweet bottled gunk.

Just for your information and comparison purposes, know that:

ONE SERVING (about 100 ml)

Bottled barbecue sauce (for example, Heinz)contains: 140 kilocalories, 31.7 g carbohydrates (of which 29.2 is sugars), 1.1 g protein, 0.3 g total fat, 0.5 g dietary fiber, 600 mg sodium

Homemade barbecue sauce, made the regular way which usually uses much brown sugar or maple syrup, contains: 160 kcals, 30.8 g carbohydrates (of which 26.2
sugars), 1.46 g protein, 4.1 g total fat,1.0 g dietary fiber, 910 mg sodium

The following recipes are MUCH HEALTHIER AND they are just as tasty, if not BETTER-TASTING!

This first recipe uses fresh plums in place of most of the brown sugar that is normally used to make a regular homemade sauce. Fresh peaches and apricots also make a great barbecue sauce, but plums give the nice 'tang' to the sweetness.

Barbecue Sauce made with fresh plums

1 tsp unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon margarine
1 onion, chopped
garlic, 2 cloves, minced
ketchup, 1 cup or 8 oz. or, better yet, 2 chopped medium ripe tomatoes or 15 baby pomodori tomatoes, chopped
cider vinegar, 1/3 cup or 2 oz.
1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar
plums, 2medium or 5 small, chopped with skin on
Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 cup or 1 oz.
1 tsp hot pepper sauce
salt, dash
1 tsp black pepper

Melt butter and margarine in saucepan. Add onion and cook until almost transparent. Add garlic and cook about 2 minutes. Add plums and cook until starting to soften
Add remaining ingredients and stir well. If too thick,at this point, can add cold water, but only to 'saucy' consistency -- never too 'liquidy'. Simmer until mixture boils, then lower for 15-20 minutes until thickened.
Set aside. Prepare your ribs, chicken, pork chops, or whatever you would like to marinate with the barbecue sauce. If I'm using ribs (ESPECIALLY pork), I always simmer first in a big pot for 45 minutes before laying in a baking or grilling pan covered with the barbecue sauce and then I cook them for a further 25-30 minutes with the barbecue sauce cooking into them. I also cook my chicken and pork chops first a bit (say 20-30 minutes -- depending on thickness of meat), before covering with barbecue sauce and returning to grill or oven to finish the cooking process. As the meats cook, the barbecue sauce almost melts into the meat and gives it a shiny, glistening barbecue finish as well as that fantastic barbecue aroma! For vegetables, you do not need to pre-cook before adding barbecue sauce for cooking.

This barbecue sauce recipe makes enough for 6 servings or 1 large pan of meat or vegetables.

One Serving (about 100 ml), made with ketchup, contains: 96.5 kcals, 19.1 g carbohydrate (of which 15.3 sugars), 2.3 g total fat, 1.04 g dietary fiber, 562 mg sodium

IF YOU REPLACE the ketchup with fresh chopped tomatoes, you get a similar tasting barbecue sauce AND the nutritional contents are EVEN healthier as ONE SERVING THEN contains: 64.5 kcals, 10.6 g carbohydrates (of which 7.18 sugars), 2.3 g total fat, 1.33 g dietary fiber, 174 mg sodium. You would add the chopped tomatoes after the plums have started to soften and then wait for the tomatoes to soften a bit before adding rest of ingredients and proceed, as directed, above.

I always make my recipe with fresh plums AND tomatoes (I use baby pomodori tomatoes) as I can't believe how much LESS sugars, sodium, and kilocalories and more fiber there is using this recipe and the flavor is SO tasty and delicious! Once all these flavors meld together and then cook into the meat and/or vegetables, you don't miss the brown sugar and ketchup AT ALL! I promise!!
Enjoy! ;)